You Learn to Love Them
by PFTones3482
Summary: Spin-off from my story If You Had Five Minutes. Don't need to read that story to understand this one, but it would help. Two-Shot of Candace learning to live with and love her new father and brother.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the spin-off of the story **_**If You Had Five Minutes **_**that I told you about! It's based on the call Lawrence made to Stacy.**

**This was so much fun to write, and it really made me think about Ferb and Candace's relationship. There will be one other chapter about Lawrence and Candace, and then the results of her assignment. **

**This story takes place in the middle of October, hence the school bits. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Candace sighed and sat back in her chair, staring at her image in the vanity mirror in front of her. She glanced back at her book bag, which was flung carelessly on the floor at the foot of her bed. She sighed and stood up from her chair.

Candace trudged over to her backpack and picked it up, rifling through the contents until her hand closed over her time tracker. She pulled it out and flipped to that day's assignment for English.

_Write a three to eight paged paper on something that was hard to overcome in your life._

Candace sighed and flopped onto her bed, her laptop resting under her finger tips and the cursor blinking at her on the blank screen.

She frowned and typed her name onto the screen, just to put something on it. Candace sighed and rolled over so that her laptop was cushioning her head. Phineas and Ferb went flying past her room with Perry at their heels, and Candace had the urge to tell them to knock it off.

Brothers. How annoying.

Candace suddenly sat up and stared at her screen. She had an idea….but she wasn't sure how to put it in words. She flashed back to the year that she had turned eleven…to a particular thing that Stacy had said to her.

"_My advice is to take a day with just Ferb. No Phineas, no Isabella, no Mom. Just you and Ferb. Get to know him. Have fun. Then do the same thing with Mr. Fletcher. You never know, you might have a lot of fun."_

Candace gave a small smile and let her fingers rest lightly on the keys for a moment before she started typing.

_The hardest thing I have ever had to accomplish in my life was the year that my mother married my stepfather and I got a new brother. I wasn't too happy with them at first. But my best friend gave me some advice, and I decided to take it. It started on a really sunny morning…._

* * *

Eleven year old Candace skipped down the stairs at 8:30 am and slowed as she realized that the only one who was in the kitchen was her new stepfather. She froze in the doorway, but Stacy's words from the day before urged her on.

"Morning, Lawrence," Candace said softly, pouring herself a glass of orange juice and sitting down across from him. Her stepfather glanced up and smiled. "Good morning Candace, did you sleep well?"

Candace nodded and took a sip of her juice. "Yes."

There was an awkward silence, and Candace glanced up slowly. "Lawrence?"

The man looked up and peered at Candace over the rims of his glasses. "Yes, Candace?"

Candace scuffed her toe on the linoleum floor. "I was just wondering….could I take Ferb to the park? Without a grown up?"

Lawrence blinked in surprise. "Can you-? Of course you can take the boys to the park. They would love that!"

Candace shook her head. "No. Just Ferb. Not Phineas."

Lawrence set his paper down and laced his fingers together. He rested his chin on top of them and studied Candace. "Why don't you want to take Phineas?"

Candace gulped. "I…I thought that I should get to know Ferb a little better. You know, since I'm going to have to live with him."

Lawrence chuckled a little and reached his hand into his pocket. "I have no problems with it. Just make sure you watch when you cross the road. Look both ways and hold his hand, all right? He's only six."

He pulled out his wallet and reached inside, handing Candace a ten dollar bill. Candace looked at it in confusion. "The park doesn't cost money."

Lawrence laughed. "No, but if you would like to stop for ice cream or something, you may."

Candace smiled. "Thanks, Lawrence."

At that moment, Phineas and Ferb walked into the room, their new pet platypus Perry (formerly Bartholomew) cradled between them. They sat down at the table and smiled. "Morning Lawrence!" Phineas said brightly.

Candace winced and tucked the money into her pocket. Phineas had liked Lawrence immediately, and Candace knew that it wasn't going to be long before Phineas started calling him Dad.

But Candace couldn't bring herself to do it. She still missed her father, and it pained her to even think of calling Lawrence "Dad."

"Ferb, Candace said that she wants to take you to the park today," Lawrence said with a smile.

Candace looked up at her stepbrother and gave a hesitant smile. Ferb just nodded slightly and looked down at the table.

Candace sighed and sank in her chair a little. Ferb was too quiet, and it kind of drove her just a little crazy. She couldn't understand it. He had said maybe five words to her in the year they had known each other, and three of them consisted of "hi."

Phineas smiled. "Cool! We can all hang out at the park!" he cried in excitement.

Lawrence shook his head. "Sorry, Phineas, only Candace and Ferb are going. But you and I can still have fun together, right?"

Phineas looked a bit deflated, but he grinned anyway. "Yeah! That would be great!"

He turned to Ferb eagerly. "I bet you and Candace will have a lot of fun together!"

Ferb gave a tiny smile and the look in his eye made Candace think that he didn't believe it.

She sighed and stood up. "Ferb, are you coming?" she asked, holding out her hand awkwardly. She glanced at the clock. It was nine am. Candace figured that she should try and last until at least one in the afternoon.

A warm hand slipped into hers and Candace looked down, startled. Ferb didn't look at her, but his hand was closed firmly around hers. Candace looked up and smiled. "See you guys later!" she said, waving.

Phineas waved back and Candace stepped out the door, Ferb in tow. The walked to the park quietly, with Candace trying to make feeble attempts at conversation. She finally stopped and they stepped into the park just as silent as they had been when they left the house.

She glanced down at Ferb. "What do you want to do?" she asked.

Ferb gazed around at the park, and Candace swore that she saw a smile at the corner of his mouth. He pointed silently to the swings and Candace led him over. Ferb immediately clambered into one and began pumping his legs fiercely.

Candace hesitated, then stepped up behind him and gave the swing a gentle push. Ferb's head turned in confusion, but he still said nothing. He continued pumping his legs and Candace pushed him until he'd gotten well enough off the ground that he could swing quite easily.

As he swung down, Candace studied him for a moment.

Ferb's eyes were shining a bit, and his lips were definitely curving upwards in a smile. He glanced at Candace and smiled slightly.

"Having fun?" the girl asked.

Ferb nodded, though it was hard to tell, since he was still swinging. As he started to slow down, he began pumping his legs again. "Higher, Candace, please?" he asked softly.

Candace looked up, startled. "Did you just talk?" she asked in disbelief.

Ferb immediately shut his mouth and Candace winced. She stepped behind him to push the swing, but Ferb dug his feet into the dirt and came to a halt. He stepped off the swing and headed for the slides.

Candace sighed and followed him, watching as he went up…and then down….and then up….and then down…at least ten times on the twisty slide.

She paused, and pulled out her cell phone. Her mother had gotten it for her on her birthday "for emergencies and homework only."

Candace shrugged and turned on the camera. She raised it up and pointed it at Ferb, who was perched at the top of the slide for the eleventh time. The boy looked surprised, but he gave a thumbs up and Candace snapped the picture.

* * *

_I still have the picture. It's one of my favorites of Ferb. _

Candace looked up from her screen and turned her gaze to the wall opposite her bed. It had only a few pictures mounted on it, and she smiled at the sight of the one with six year old Ferb on the slide.

She glanced back down at her keyboard, cracked her knuckles, and continued typing.

_I think that up until that moment, I had tuned him out a little. I decided to listen; at least, when he was done on the slides, I did…. _

* * *

Candace glanced at her watch, giggling slightly. Ferb had just tried to go down the slide on his knees, and had ended up going about two feet before he stopped. He had immediately turned around, climbed back up the slide, and gone down the regular way.

Candace blinked in surprise and looked up. "Ferb! It's almost eleven o'clock!"

The boy landed at Candace's feet and tugged on her wrist, turning it so that the watch faced him. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Do you want to go get ice cream now?" Candace asked.

Ferb nodded slowly and the two turned towards the ice cream parlor. About halfway there, Candace felt a hand slip into hers. She didn't look down, but she gently squeezed the hand.

They stepped into the parlor and the man behind the counter looked up and smiled. "Hi, Candace! How are you today?"

Candace smiled. "Hi Mr. Guffy. I'm fine."

Mr. Guffy smiled and knelt to meet Ferb's eye. "And you must be Ferb. I've heard a lot about you young man."

Ferb looked startled, but he offered a small smile anyway. Mr. Guffy stood up. "What can I do for you two today?" he asked, stepping back behind the counter.

"I'll have a vanilla cone with sprinkles," Candace said, leading Ferb over to the register.

Mr. Guffy started to scoop the ice cream and he looked down at Ferb. "And for the young man?" he asked with a smile.

Candace knelt. "What do you want, Ferb?"

Ferb studied the ice cream case and he slowly pointed to the Superman kind, the red, yellow, and blue colors stunning next to the other dull colors of ice cream. Mr. Guffy smiled, handed Candace her cone, and started on Ferb's. "Good choice."

Candace paid the man and then she and Ferb took their cones outside to eat them. Candace handed Ferb a napkin and held onto one for herself. A few teenage boys sat down at the table next to them, but Candace really didn't pay attention.

"So, Ferb how is your cone?" she asked, amazed that he hadn't gotten anything on himself yet.

Ferb gave a thumbs up and went back to licking. "Did you have fun at the park?" Candace asked, catching a drip of vanilla with her tongue. Ferb nodded and gave a smile.

"Hey!" called a voice. Candace and Ferb turned to see the teenage boys snickering rudely. The one with dark hair spoke up. "Is he stupid or something?" he asked, pointing to Ferb.

Candace's cheeks burned and she stood abruptly, noticing Ferb's hurt look. "Of course not! He's ten times smarter than any of you!" she cried.

She reached out and grabbed Ferb's hand. "Come on, Ferb, let's go," she said, pulling him from the table. She walked past the boys angrily and stopped in front of the one who had asked the question.

She only paused a moment before smashing her ice cream into his hair.

She scooped Ferb up in her arms and hurried away before they could regain their senses. She heard a yell from Mr. Guffy and sighed with relief, knowing that he would let her get away.

She slowed down and sat on a bench, setting Ferb beside her. The boy had tears in his eyes and his ice cream was dripping down his cone. Candace smiled gently and wiped his eyes with the napkin she had salvaged. "Don't listen to them, Ferb. They're just big meanies."

Ferb nodded and wiped his eye with his fist. He turned and dropped his melting ice cream into a trash can, and then slowly wiped his hands off on Candace's napkin.

Candace sighed and leaned back on the bench. And just when things had been going so well, too.

She felt a tug on her sleeve and she glanced down. Ferb's hands were ice cream free, and his eyes were pleading. "I'm not stupid, right Candace?"

Candace looked at the boy in shock. "Ferb, of course not! I meant what I said, and I said what I meant!"

Ferb gave a small giggle. "Are you an elephant?"

Candace had to think about that for a second, but she laughed when she realized what he meant. "No, I'm not. But those guys are dumb."

Ferb nodded and leaned back on the bench, his eyes downcast. Candace decided that this was as good a time as any. "Ferb, why did you ask Stacy if I hated you?"

Ferb's head shot up and he looked at her guiltily. "I didn't think you liked me. You never tried to talk to me or anything."

Candace winced. "That would make me seem stand off-ish, huh? But did you ever think that if you talked more, then people would talk to you more?"

Ferb fell silent and looked down. "Yeah. But I don't think talking is important."

Candace frowned and turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"What's the point of saying something if you don't need to?" the boy pointed out. Candace sat back with a puzzled look on her face. Ferb did have a point. The girl shook her head and took Ferb's hand lightly. "Do you want to go get another ice cream?"

Ferb shook his head and hopped off the bench. The two started back towards the house and Candace smiled. "You're a pretty neat brother, Ferb."

Ferb glanced up. "Don't you mean step brother?" he asked in confusion.

Candace ruffled his hair. "No. I mean brother. Just as much as Phineas."

Ferb stopped on the sidewalk and stared up at her. "What about Daddy?"

Candace drew in a deep breath and she sighed. "I don't know yet Ferb."

Ferb smiled slightly. "It's ok if you miss your Daddy. Phineas talks about him a lot," the green haired boy whispered, looking down.

Candace glanced down at him. "He does?"

Ferb nodded. "He cries sometimes, too. I don't say anything, because I don't think I need to. I just let him cry."

Candace gave a watery smile and she knelt and pulled Ferb into a hug. "Thanks for looking out for him, Ferb."

Ferb hugged her back. "My Daddy won't replace your Daddy," he said quietly. "But I don't think that your Daddy wants you to be sad. I think he wants you to like my Daddy. Daddy likes you."

Candace sucked in a breath. Stacy had said the exact same thing to her yesterday, before she had left for camp. She stood up and placed her hand back in Ferb's.

"Thank you Ferb," she said as they started down the street towards their house.

* * *

_Ferb taught me a lot that day. He taught me that it's ok to not use words, and that sometimes when someone is in need, you don't need to use words to help them, like him being there for Phineas when he was crying, or me smashing that ice cream into that boy's hair. _

_No words were needed. And even though accepting Ferb was a difficult obstacle to overcome, I'm glad I did it, because now we're extremely close. _

Candace sat back and chewed on her thumb as she re-read the whole thing. She glanced down at the page count and realized that it was only four pages long. Candace paused.

A lot more had happened that day, and she realized that what had happened the rest of the day was just as much a challenge to her as hanging out with Ferb was.

She grabbed her water bottle from the nightstand and took a quick drink.

Candace hesitated, searching her brain for the words, and she started typing.

* * *

**No authors note needed for you to know what to do. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I lovew the feedback from this! Here's the last chapter. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb, and I thought it would be cute to see how they obtained a few things….you'll see what I mean. **

**I don't own Phineas and Ferb.**

* * *

_After I got back with Ferb, I wasn't quite sure how to approach my stepfather. Phineas solved that problem quite easily…._

* * *

"Hey Candace!" Phineas called from the living room as Candace and Ferb walked in the door. Candace glanced down at her six year old brother and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think they're doing, Ferb?"

Ferb shrugged and the two headed for the living room.

Lawrence was on his back on the floor with his legs in the air, bent at the knee. Phineas was lying on them from his stomach down and Lawrence had a firm grip on his hands. Phineas was giggling like mad.

"Look Candace, I'm Superman!" he called, grinning from ear to ear.

Candace chuckled. "I can see that Phineas."

Phineas hopped off of Lawrence and raced over to Ferb. "Come on Ferb, let's go outside and play! You can tell me about what you and Candace did today! Thanks for playing with me Dad!"

The boy ran ahead of his brother. Ferb shot a small smile in Candace's direction and followed his very enthusiastic brother outside.

Candace was frozen to the spot, and she flinched when Lawrence laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Candace?" he asked in concern.

Candace looked up and nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."

Lawrence sighed. "I know this is about Phineas calling me Dad."

Candace winced and looked down. "A little. I didn't think he'd say it so-I mean, you're great and all but it's just…never mind," she sighed.

Lawrence rubbed her shoulder gently. "I understand."

He started for the kitchen and Candace gulped. "Wait. Lawrence could we…I don't know, go to the zoo or something? Just…hang out and get to know each other better?"

Lawrence turned around with a smile. "That would be fun. Would you like to go now?"

Candace blinked, startled. "Now?"

Lawrence nodded. "Yes. Your mother is home, she's upstairs writing a letter. I'll go tell her where we're going."

Candace nodded. "Ok."

Lawrence disappeared up the stairs and Candace gulped. She had no idea how this was going to go.

The man came back down a few moments later, keys jangling in his hand. "Ready?"

"Sure," Candace said softly, following him out the door and hopping into the car. They rode in silence, not even the radio playing.

It felt like forever to Candace before they reached the zoo, but in reality it was only ten minutes. Lawrence parked the car and they walked up to the admission gate.

"One child and one adult," Lawrence said, handing the man money. The man let them into the park and leaned out the window after them.

"Make sure you check out the new Polar Bear exhibit!" he called.

Lawrence waved at the man. "Will do!"

Candace gave a small smile as they entered the zoo. Lawrence turned to her. "So. Where would you like to go first?"

Candace gazed around the area and hesitantly pointed to the Reptile house. Lawrence looked startled. "I thought you hated snakes?" he said, shaking his head.

Candace shook her head. "No. They're really neat. I just don't like it when they're on me. But I think snakes are pretty cool."

Lawrence nodded and he and Candace headed for the snake house. Candace darted inside and when Lawrence caught up to her, he found her with her face pressed up against the glass of one of the habitats, staring at a large python. She glanced back at Lawrence.

"Aren't they so cool?" she asked, pointing to the large animal behind the glass.

"You really like snakes, huh?" a man in a zoo uniform asked, walking up with a smile. Candace shrank back slightly and nodded. "Yeah."

The man smiled and leaned over. "My name is Austin. Would you like to see a snake that we haven't brought out yet? Her name is Lucy," he said, holding out a hand.

Candace looked up at Lawrence and Austin immediately straightened up. "That is, of course, if it's all right with your father."

Candace almost protested that he wasn't her _real _dad, but she shut her mouth and decided to let him think what he wanted. Lawrence nodded. "Of course, that's fine, as long as it's safe."

Austin grinned. "Oh, it's perfectly safe. Lucy isn't venomous, and she's really sweet. Come on."

Austin led the way to a door that was marked "Employees Only." He opened it up and showed them inside.

Austin walked over to a box at the end of the room and opened the top gently. "Lucy is an Eastern Garter snake," he said, pulling out a small green-ish snake. "She's completely harmless."

He stepped over to Candace and moved the snake so that she was at eye level. Candace smiled. "She looks really neat," she said, studying Lucy intently. Austin grinned. "Would you like to hold her?" he asked.

Candace immediately stepped back. "I don't know," she said quietly. "Isn't she slimy?"

Austin frowned. "No, of course not! Would you like to try?"

Candace bit her lip and slowly reached her hands out. Austin gently deposited Lucy into her hands and the snake curled up Candace's arm. The girl giggled. "She tickles," she said softly.

Lawrence smiled at Austin. "Thanks Austin. That was very kind of you."

Austin shrugged. "It's not often people are so interested in snakes. They get a bad rep, so it's nice to see people enjoying them."

Candace smiled and gently handed Lucy back to her handler. "Thank you Austin," she said, stepping back over to Lawrence. The young man smiled as he set the snake back in the box. "Any time, kid," he said, smiling and holding the door for them on the way out.

Candace smiled and stepped out into the sunlight. "That was really cool," she said, glancing up at Lawrence. The man nodded.

"Yes, yes it was. Where to next?" he asked.

Candace glanced around, grabbed Lawrence's hand, and pulled him towards the bears.

Almost two hours later, the two walked out from the aquarium and started for the car. They started to pass the gift shop and Candace held up her hand. "Wait here! I have some money, and I want to get something."

Lawrence stood outside and waited for about five minutes. Candace strolled out clutching a bag and a pile of change. "What did you get?" Lawrence asked curiously.

Candace glanced down at the bag as they reached the car. She hopped into the front seat and dug into the plastic bag. "Well, I got this for Phineas," she said, pulling out a stuffed platypus, "and this for Ferb," she said, pulling out a baseball cap with the words "I Love Platypi" on it, the love being a heart, "and for myself…" She held up a finger and showed Lawrence the tiny little platypus ring that adorned it. Lawrence chuckled and started the car. "Why all the platypus stuff?"

Candace shrugged. "Duh, because of Perry. Oh, and speaking of Perry…"

She reached once more into the bag and yanked out a collar with a bronze webbed foot attached to it. "I found this really cute locket specifically for a pet platypus. Weird, huh?"

"A locket?" Lawrence asked, glancing over briefly. Candace nodded.

"Yeah. It opens up and you can put three different pictures in it."

Lawrence gave a smile. "And how exactly did you afford this?" he asked. Candace shrugged. "My allowance."

Lawrence laughed and pulled into the driveway. He sat for a moment and then looked at Candace. "I had a lot of fun today, Candace."

Candace glanced down and realized that she had had a lot of fun today as well. "I did too."

They walked inside to find Linda, Phineas, and Ferb playing Skiddley Whifflers. Phineas grinned when he saw them.

"How was the zoo?" he asked.

Candace smiled and walked behind her brothers. She plunked the hat onto Ferb's head and tucked the stuffed animal into Phineas' hands. They looked up with smiles.

"Thanks Candace!" they both said.

Linda smiled. "So I take it that you had fun."

Candace handed her mother the locket for Perry and nodded. "Yeah! We saw the new polar bear exhibit, and the monkeys, and we saw a bunch of fish and sharks, and this guy in the Reptile house let me and Dad in the back to-"

She froze, realizing what she had just said. Linda raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Back to what, Candace?" Phineas asked.

Candace gulped and gave a smile. "This guy in the reptile house showed me and Dad this new snake they got named Lucy."

"Cool!" Phineas cried.

Candace smiled at Lawrence and then darted up the stairs with the boys. Linda chuckled. "You know what she just said, right?"

Lawrence had a grin on his face, and he looked as happy as Linda had ever seen him. "Yeah. Yeah I did."

_I guess that on that day, my real dad finally said to me, "You need to move on." Even though I still really miss him, I have another dad. He doesn't replace my first father, and he never will. But he comes pretty darn close to being just as awesome._

_That day has always been one of my favorites. Stacy really made me rethink how I thought about Ferb and my Dad, and I'm glad she did. Because if she hadn't, I would never have the family that I do. _

_So yeah, that was a hard time. But it was the best. _

* * *

Candace grinned, saved her document without another word, and printed three copies of it to the den.

She walked in to grab them, and tucked one into a folder to give to her teacher tomorrow. She held onto the other two. If she got a good grade, she might just let her Dad and Ferb read them.

* * *

Two weeks later, Miss Melissa handed back their papers. She paused in front of Candace's desk and said in a voice loud enough for the whole class to hear, "Candace wrote one of the most touching essay's that I have ever read, and I have submitted a copy of it to the young writers contest going on here in Danville. I hope all of you follow her example in writing. Candace, would you mind if I read this out loud to the class?"

Candace was stunned. "No, of course not. Go ahead."

The teacher headed to the front of the room, leaned on her desk, and started reading.

In minutes, everyone was hooked.

Candace got home that night and went up to her room. She quietly stapled together the papers and left one on Ferb's bed and the other on her Dad's. Not one hour later, Ferb walked up to her and gave her the tightest hug in the world. She smiled and hugged back before he left to go play with Phineas and Isabella.

Her father had a similar reaction, though he had started crying while reading it.

* * *

Needless to say, Candace won first place in the writers contest, and only two people were more proud of her than herself.

So, it's true. You don't need to say anything to mean something. No words need be spoken when someone is in need. And as Candace has learned, time and time again, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Sometimes, she found, all that matters is what's on the inside.

Sometimes, all that matters is that there's a friend.

* * *

**The End. **


End file.
